Sarasota man arrested for cocaine disguised as mints

The Altoids tin that police say Rashad Johnson was carrying Friday didn’t contain anything minty fresh. The 35-year-old Sarasota man faces possession charges after being found with mint-sized baggies of cocaine and a bag of marijuana.

According to the Sarasota Police Department, two officers patrolling the Washington Court-Dr. Martin Luther King Way area around 9 p.m. Friday. They saw Johnson sitting in the gazebo of Fredd Glossie Atkins Park, in the Newtown area of the city.

Once Johnson saw officers approaching him, according to the probable cause affidavit, he threw a silver and blue Altoids Arctic Peppermint tin to the ground. Inside the container, an officer found 16 small baggies of powder cocaine.

After being handcuffed, officers found a blue drawstring bag under his grey sweatshirt. A digital scale, baggies, $960.50 and 26 grams of marijuana were found on Johnson, according to the affidavit.

When an officer was testing the suspected cocaine, Johnson told police, “You don’t have to test it. It’s cocaine.”

Johnson faces one felony charge of possession of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park, one felony charge of possession of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a park and one misdemeanor charge of drug paraphernalia possession.

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Sarasota man arrested for cocaine disguised as mints."